Candidquality

Sounds like he was already keeping an eye out for Sean. Will send out a few thankful prayers, and a few more that this isn't too much of a trial.

Send over a piece and I'll count them for free. ;) nice work, looking forward to see where it is going to go.

Be a good opportunity to test several methods and see which works best on your wood.

Nice work. Definitly something to be proud of. Any backstory on how he got the commission?

plenty of steel putties now. might cost you $4 to fill in each handle, but will hold up to the abuse.

Only mentioned the cover as it had been brought up before, so no worries if you don't go there. Yes, the programmable cycle would be an amazing addition, especially coupled with the necessary background in reading colors.

Unsure why the pic won't show up better, but it's a good starting layout. Guessing the power keeps the lathe in place? when you say you are wanting to make it possible for guests/visitors.are you meaning freinds? or more clients? A good spot to watch the forging is behind the clack tub, but id recommend a half wall with a polycarbonate window. no chance of hurting a guest that way. could drop it in between the pillar behind the lathe, and the second poet on the left wall. could keep chips from flying off the lathe toward the forge as well. Spent the afternoon tinkering with this in cad. have to get a mental break occasionally. Render attached. Can play with it more if you can give more details. Your shop area definitly has potential.

yes, will resist salt wateretching. In fact can be done with a napkin saturated with the salt solution and a 9 volt battery. Heat is not really a concern most of the time. "Toner" is actually a plastic melting around 350f (up to 425 for some brands), similar to "glue sticks"which are low temp plastics(150 to 250f range). Neither has any adhesive at all. Just warm enough it will stick like honey, too hot and it's pure liquid and you will lose definition.

Tantalium, though how you are going to heat it in a practical application would be interesting to know. keep us posted, and don't poke your eye out with that thing.

If you are still interested in a wrap for your coil. 3M nextel 440 sleeving. Not sure about its insulating properties, but working with it now developing a gasforge application and it handles the heat well (rated for 2500F continuous). Saw it an one link for it at about 0.77 per inch. i'm sure you can find it cheaper if searching for quantity. Not good for copper at heat,but your coil should never be at that heat(would not recommend forging copper inside). Looking forward to your kickstarter.

congratulations! now we should start seeing all the great things you are making as you figure it out right?

easiest way I found to alleviate ash issues. straight pipe from the bottom of the forge down to a 5 gallon quench bucket(suspended above the bottom a few inches so i can be removed when wanted. "T" into the side of the down pipe to blow in your air. any ash falls into the bucket, and you don't have to think about it. water pressure seals off that end of the tube.

Nice when everyone walks away happy. looking forward to the pics

Thanks for the update. Sorry for resurrecting an older thread, but so many times I come in late and wonder what ever happened... Good to know project is still plugging along, and no complaints. Nice to know a newer cast iron can make a real difference in strength.

That's a pretty good start. Next time you might try using tongs and a hammer instead of your hands to reduce the blisters. Might go a tad faster too. ;) Kidding aside. If you have a picture of your setup, drop it in so we can see what you are working with. I read your description, but it does more good to see the size of the opening, the position of the burner, etc. might be able to squeeze a bit more heat out of your setup with a nudge here and there until you get your new forge built. odds are you're already maxed out with the propane at just under 2000F. works well for copper at 1650 or so. But even a little carbon in the steel and it wants to be worked at about 2200. If you've been forging steel with your setup, you'll notice the new forge steel will turn to butter.

x10 on this idea. Akin to the hit it while it's hot mantra. People forget quickly.

Really nice idea. A simple idea on the rope that definitely works well. Let me know if you need my mailing address if you get tired of that one. ;)

A fun little knocker. just a little rough around the edges, but nothing a little file work wouldn't clean up. definitely a lot of complexity for a 3 hour time. I love little competitions like these. so many creative ideas for the same basic item. thanks for sharing.

Nice. Agreed that finding interesting ways to make non-electric tentacles is a fun exercise.

I know this is a tad old, but curious as to how well these are holding up after a few years work. Any updates? Did that one ever get it's mirror polish from the silversmith? find a decent caster?

Followed straw bale constrution for a while, but never built any myself. Something just recently approved should give you solid ground to stand on with buillding inspectors. http://www.strawbale.com/irc-code-2013/ pdf file on the page with the added appendix for straw bale building. It will be expanded next year. The rest of the site should give you enough information to get where you are going. Attached pdf below to make it easier. Some good information here, one thing I noted though was someone mentioned spraying with borax for pest resistance. This is actually a fire preventative measure. One of the oldest(that I know of) methods to reduce the flammibility of a wooden shop was to spray down with go ol 20 mule team borax. A better preventative for bugs would be diatomacious earth(natural, not the stuff from the pool suppply that is heated). Will last forever if kept dry, and inside a straw bale wall is a perfect place for it. no bugs, means nothing larger there feeding on bugs. just my .02

And don,t confuse titanium coated as meaning anything more than a shiny coat on the outside of a cheap bit. Buying something like cobalt bits makes a world of difference. if you cant see the flutes of the bit moving, your probably going too fast.

Nice idea Joel. If you don't mind taking up some of your anvil top (most of which goes unused on most days anyway). The one issue that I would have is that the foot is designed to transfer load to the floor. In your case this is not happening. The mounting bracket is really only designed to a) restrain the spring and B) keep the top from twisting. Perfectly fine for twisting as it will hold in place well, just not much hammering. Personally I'd dado out a channel 2" wide x 1" deep in the bottom of your wood block. Then replace it with a block of solid steel stock with a hole for the peg on the foot. You could then attach the block to the base of your existing stand with a few (three near the vice, one opposite) long shoulder bolts. Would add a decent amount of weight(under 20#), but would be little risk of popping dents into whatever floor you are on, and not pinch the screw eye or widen the mounting bracket. Really depends on how much downward force you use for what you make at demos. If not much, then you've got a nice compact little setup.

Every once in a while I re-examine old wives tales to see where it leads me. The problem with that particular reference is not that a blade couldn't be produced that could cut stone, but that the stone itself does not yield well to being cut. The normal tendency for stone it to shatter. Now if perchance you were to find the proper crystal structure and understand the cleavage, you might indeed be able to produce a cleanly fractured stone that would resemble a cut. As far as actually cutting a stone, it would have to be a sawing motion removing enough material with the cutting edge to actually allow the blade to pass. Interesting concept is a wafer thin sword. Then you have the small issue of what would cut said material(including diamonds). A short search around google will let you know that only one substance is harder than, and therefore, able to cut diamonds. Carbon nanotubes. What's facinating about that information, is that in the soot produced from burning something carbon based, some of the particles are indeed naturally produced carbon nanotubes. Now if you could somehow isolate these and embed then into the edge of a steel blade. you might indeed be able to "cut through anything" and by cut I mean saw. Now as to whether these carbon nanotubes would withstand the shock of an impact or not is another matter to be researched. Fun to think about anyway.

Actually went to a local auction here last year and found a similar scheme on a trailer. marked it and indeed it turned up a time or two later, or course the state was very interested when I could provide the relevant information, including pictures from their own website. Never heard back from the state, but that auctioneer isn't working there anymore did find some great stuff there though that no one wanted, I always wait for it to go to the "ok next person that hold up there hand gets the whole shelf for $20" heck, the bolt cutters were worth that. and don't forget, swing by the right auction or two and you might be able to drum yourself up some nice business from the patrons. Some of them don't know what to think when they can order an "antique" piece that exactly fits in that small corner. Most don't know that there is a local blacksmith. they''ll beam with pride when showing it off, and you'll get the follow-up calls and can get a bit more money out of the next deal.